A Center of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) at Northwestern University

The Center for Child Trauma Assessment, Services and Interventions (formerly the Center for Child Trauma Assessment and Service Planning) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is a Treatment and Services Adaptation Center of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). The purpose of our Center is to provide national expertise on interventions for the developmental effects of trauma across child-serving settings, including child welfare, behavioral health, educational and juvenile justice settings.

We use a culturally sensitive lens and work to address gaps in trauma-informed practices, such as those that exist in early elementary education, child welfare residential care, juvenile probation and programs for Transition Age Youth (TAY). We emphasize resource development, intervention adaptations, training and implementation support for providers, caregivers and youth in a range of settings. Our Center promotes the use of the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) -Trauma – a trauma-focused comprehensive assessment, treatment, service planning and outcomes evaluation tool – in conjunction with other data collection strategies.

Our Goals:

Increasing the use and meaningful application of developmentally-sensitive, trauma-informed screening and assessment strategies for providers in child welfare, behavioral health, juvenile justice and educational settings

Providing training and implementation support to service providers and caregivers on NCTSN service interventions/approaches to address the developmental effects of trauma

Adapting existing trauma-focused interventions, services and products to support the needs of providers and youth in targeted settings and among underserved populations

Disseminating trauma-informed resources and products to increase public awareness of the developmental effects of trauma

Part of our mission is to increase the accessibility of our comprehensive trauma-focused assessment tool, the CANS-Trauma Comprehensive, and to provide resources to help translate assessment information into meaningful clinical practices.

We work together with our state and national level partners to identify needs related to trauma-focused assessment and service planning, resources on developmental effects of trauma, and application of supportive resources across service settings.